IPhone 16 will be released in September, despite the unavailability of Apple Intelligence AI functions

At the end of last month, it became known that Apple Intelligence-based features will become available on iOS, iPadOS and macOS Sequoia only in October of this year. Now Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman has reported that the delay in AI functions will not prevent Apple from releasing the new iPhone 16 in September.

Image Source: Apple

Last week, Apple confirmed that AI features will begin rolling out to iPhones with the release of iOS 18.1. After this, references to Apple Intelligence disappeared from the description of iOS 18, which will be released in September. AI features are expected to play a major role in making the iPhone 16 more attractive to buyers.

Interestingly, Apple has delayed the launch of new iPhones in the past due to not being ready for a massive software launch. Mark Gurman’s post points out that the iPhone 4S was released to the general public in October because new Siri and iCloud features weren’t ready for the traditional June release. Although more than a decade has passed since then, Apple could again delay the launch of new iPhones so that they hit the market at the same time as AI features.

«In recent years, Apple has typically released iPhones in September. Now Apple is faced with a similar problem. Apple Intelligence, a core feature of the iPhone 16, won’t be ready until October. However, this time Apple has taken a different route and will not delay the release of new smartphones until the services are ready. I’m told the iPhone launch will be around the same time as last year. A quick look at the calendar makes September 10th a likely date. To get started with Apple Intelligence, users will need to update their new smartphones to iOS 18.1 in October,” Gurman said in a statement.